The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the world's largest stock exchange, with a market capitalization of over 24.1 trillion US dollars. It is the oldest and most established stock exchange in the world, having been founded more than 400 years ago in Europe. NYSE is located at number 11 Wall Street, New York, USA and is publicly traded with 2,400 companies, including many well-known companies such as Walmart, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and J. P.
Morgan. The average daily trading volume ranges from 2 to 6 billion shares and it is the only stock exchange in the US that offers floor operations to major traders. NASDAQ, which stands for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, is the second largest stock exchange in the world. It is unique in that it does not have any companies listed in the oil and gas or utility sector, instead focusing on technology, health and consumer services sectors.
It also has different regulations than its counterparts such as NYSE and NASDAQ, where market regulators impose circuit breakers to curb price volatility. Whenever there is adverse news or uncertainty, the Chinese government reserves the right to stop operating during the day. Euronext, considered the best stock exchange in Europe, is the fourth largest stock exchange in the world and is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was completely suspended for 4 years after World War II but now allows members to trade derivatives, global stocks, bonds, etc.
It has more than 1000 employees on its payroll and is best known for providing business compliance and market surveillance. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), founded in 1891, ranks sixth on the list of the world's largest stock exchanges. The HKSE reference index is the Hang Seng Index and there are a total of 1200 debt securities and more than 2300 companies listed on HKSE, of which about 50% are from mainland China. The total market capitalization of all shares listed on HKSE exceeds $6.13 trillion and it generates a trading volume of more than 1 million derivative contracts per day with HSCEI futures.
The London Stock Exchange (LSE), one of the oldest stock exchanges in the world, is owned and managed by the London Stock Exchange Group. It was established in 1698 and ranks eighth on the list of the world's largest stock exchanges. There are approximately 3,000 companies listed on LSE with a combined market capitalization of more than $4.05 trillion. The BSE houses the S&P BSE SENSEX reference index which is made up of 30 stocks that represent different sectors of the economy.
NASDAQ was an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations and was founded on February 8th 1971 by FINRA (formerly known as NASD). It was the first stock exchange to carry out electronic quotes and transactions and it is a Japanese financial services company created through the merger of Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc., and Osaka Stock Exchange. It is located in Kabutochō, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan and has a large market capitalization making it one of Asia's largest stock exchanges. The Indian National Stock Exchange Limited (NSE) is another leading stock exchange in India located in Mumbai.
It was established in 1992 to provide a modern, fully automated e-commerce system and was India's first electronic exchange. SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly known as SWX Swiss Exchange) is Switzerland's leading stock exchange located in Zurich, Switzerland. It was founded in 1850 and offers transactions in stocks, government bonds and some derivative products with its main stock index being Swiss Market Index (SMI). Formerly known as BM&F Bovespa, B3 — Brasil Bolsa Balcão S/A is a Brazilian stock exchange located in São Paulo.
It was founded in 1890 making it Brazil's second oldest after Rio de Janeiro Stock Exchange but it is Brazil's largest stock exchange today. The Johannesburg Limited Stock Exchange (JSE Limited) located on Maude Street and Gwen Lane in Sandton Johannesburg South Africa was founded about 132 years ago making it Africa's oldest and largest stock exchange by far. Berkshire Hathaway began with two regional textile companies merging together in 19th century but was later bought by legendary investor Warren Buffett who converted it into a conglomerate holding company with many subsidiaries engaged in a wide range of business activities including insurance, rail freight, retail and generation/distribution of energy/utilities as well as manufacturing businesses that manufacture products for industrial/construction/consumer uses. Walmart is by far the world's largest employer with more than 2.3 million workers worldwide.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) located in Shanghai China is one of two autonomous stock exchanges operating within People's Republic of China today. Stock exchanges have always had a high sense of legitimacy ultimately providing access to best capital/funding to companies that operate there.
